Valhalla advances Midgard 300 RWS development

Slovenian remote weapon station (RWS) and turret developer Valhalla will perform the first firing trials of its Midgard 300 RWS in the United Kingdom in late September 2018, Jane’s has learned.

The first version of the modular Midguard 300 RWS is armed with the UK-made AEI Systems stabilised 30 mm Venom revolver cannon, which is a further development of the 30 mm ADEN cannon originally developed for aircraft applications and for which the company is now the overall design authority.

The AEI Systems 30 mm Venom revolver cannon is a further development of the 30 mm ADEN aircraft cannon, but has several modifications including a longer barrel and a muzzle brake. (AEI Systems)

For ground-based applications the Venom cannon has been modified and now has a 1.4 m long barrel compared with the standard 30 mm ADEN cannon, which has a barrel length of 1.08 m. The additional length is due to a new three-stage muzzle brake for reduced recoil and a barrel-aligned recoil buffer for improved accuracy.

It has an effective range of 2,000 m and the operator can select single shot or sustained fire at rates of 200/240 rds/min or 1,200/1,400 rds/min.

The weapon is designed and manufactured in the United Kingdom and is therefore International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR)-free. It can be fed from the left or right depending on the application, but for the Midgard 300 it is belt-fed from the left side with 200 rounds of ready use ammunition and equipped with a mechanical and electrical cocking system.

The Midgard 300 RWS mount, which does not penetrate the vehicle’s hull, weighs 390 kg with the Venom cannon unloaded. It is equipped with all welded aluminium armour to STANAG 4569 Level 1 standard, but can be optionally outfitted with Level 2 protection.

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